Rajya Sabha defers triple talaq bill to next session of Parliament

Informing the upper house, Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu said, "Triple Talaq bill will not be taken up today because no consensus could be built around it." Today is the last day of the Monsoon session of Parliament.

While the Muslim Women Protection of Rights on Marriage Bill was cleared by Lok Sabha last year, it made little headway in Rajya Sabha where the government lacks numbers.

The Rajya Sabha Friday deferred the triple talaq bill to next session of Parliament as there was no consensus among the parties. Informing the upper house, Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu said, “Triple Talaq bill will not be taken up today because no consensus could be built around it.” Today is the last day of the Monsoon session of Parliament.

The triple talaq bill aims to ‘set aside’ the centuries-old practice of instant divorce by men. It will now be taken up in the Winter session of Parliament and it could also be taken up as an ordinance. The move comes a day after the Union Cabinet approved inclusion of a provision of granting bail to men accused of giving instant triple talaq to their wives. Also Read: Parliament monsoon session Live Updates

Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “The offence has been made compoundable. If the wife and the husband desire to settle their differences, then the magistrate can compound the offence on appropriate terms and conditions. Magistrate can grant bail after hearing the wife.”

The amendments give power to the victim to approach a magistrate seeking “subsistence allowance” for herself and minor children. Besides these, a woman can also seek the custody of her minor children from the magistrate who will take a final call on the issue.

The Lok Sabha passed the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill in December last year that made the practice a criminal offence for which a police officer may arrest an accused without a warrant.